Wrench



A. LECHNYR.

WRENCH.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6. 1920.

Patented Dec. 28, 1920.

He 1 l8 D ID so H -2 INVENTOR. v ALBERT LECHNYR.

A TTORNE Y8.

UNITED STATES ALBERT LECHNYR, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 28, 1920.

Application filed March 6, 1920. Serial No. 363,702.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT LEOHNYR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in renches, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to wrenches and particularly to wrenches having a fixed and a slidable jaw. An object is to provide a wrench having a slidable jaw which can be quickly moved into contact with a nut or other object to be gripped and which will be firmly locked in engagement therewith until released. Another object is to provide a wrench having a slidable jaw which can be readily detached from the fixed jaw and re placed by another slidable jaw having a different gripping surface.

The full objects and advantages of my invention will appear in connection with the detailed description thereof and the novel features embodied in my inventive idea will be particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the application of my invention in one form,-

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation having a portion broken away. Fig. 2 is a view mostly in longitudinal section on the line 22 of Fig. 4 but showing the movable jaw in elevation. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a sleeve member. Fig. l is a view in crosssection on the line 44 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing the parts in unlocked position. Fig. 6 is a view in cross-section on the line 66 of Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a view in cross-section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1.

As shown in the drawings, a fixed jaw 10 is provided with a hollow handle portion 12 to the rear end of which a hand grip 14 is secured by a screw-bolt 16. The hollow handle portion 12 constitutes a slideway for receiving the shank of a slidable jaw 18, and the inner face of this shank is provided with corrugations or threads 20. The hollow handle portion is cut away to receive a member 22 which is eccentrically mounted and keyed on a rod 24 the ends of which have bearings in the hollow handle member located at each side of the cut-away portlon. The rear portion of the rod 24 is surrounded by a coiled spring 26 held thereon by a tap screw 28, this spring being so arranged as to normally hold corrugations or threads on the eccentric member 22 in engagement with the corrugations or threads 20. Mounted for partial rotation upon the handle member 1s a sleeve 30 having a lug 32 on its inner surface adapted to engage a shoulder 34 on the eccentric member 22. The sleeve 30 is provided with an outward projection 36 for engagement by the thumb or finger whereby the sleeve 30 and the eccentric 22 may be turned in opposition to the tension of the spring from the position shown in Fig. 4 to the position shown in Fig. 5, thereby unlocking the slidable jaw 18. The shank of the slidable jaw is provided with a longitudinal groove 38 adapted to receive the end of a screw 40 extending through the fixed jaw member. A stop is thus provided which determines the inner and outer limits of movement of the slidable jaw. Upon removing the screw 40 the slidable jaw 18, which is shown as having a smooth gripping surface, may be replaced with a slidable jaw having a different gripping surface such as that provided by forming teeth on the gripping surface.

The operation and advantages of my invention will appear from the foregoing description. When the eccentric is moved into the position shown in Fig. 5 the fixed jaw may be placed in contact with one side of the nut or other object to be turned and the slidable jaw may be pushed by hand into contact with the other side of said object. As will be seen from Fig. 1, the projection 36 is in such position that it may be readily engaged by the thumb and pushed sidewise to release the slidable jaw from its locked position in which it is normally held by the spring 26. By providing the shank of the slidable jaw with an extended corrugated surface 20 which is adapted to be engaged by the corrugations on the eccentric member22, it is apparent that when the sleeve 30 is released, the slidable jaw is very firmly locked in place.

I claim:

A wrench comprising a fixed jaw, a hollow handle extending from said fixed jaw, a slidable jaw having a shank slidably mounted in said hollow handle, said shank being provided with a corrugated surface, an eccentric mounted in said hollow handle and having a corrugated surface, a spring normally holding said corrugated surfaces in engage- 5 ment with each other, a sleeve mounted on said hollow handle for partial rotation thereon, a lug on said sleeve for engaging a shoulder on said eccentric, and an outwardlyextending projection on said sleeve whereby the latter may be turned. 10

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

ALBERT LECHNYR. 

